Portrait artist Renee Crawford is a North Carolina native and has lived in Raleigh for more than 30 years. Renee received her law degree from Duke University and her Masters in Fine Art from the University of Oregon. After a successful career as a trial attorney, Renee turned to art and portraiture full time. Renee has a keen eye and ability to capture the particular essence of each portrait subject that reveals each unique human soul. Her one-woman show, "Portraits in Friendship" was recently unveiled at Nicole's Studio and Art Gallery to great acclamation and success.

Renee has studied with some of the country's top portrait artists, including Dan Gerhartz and Michelle Dunaway. She also has studied with international Master Impressionist Jerry Fresia as well as nationally-known artists Albert Handell, John Poon, Dawn Whitelaw and Dan Beck, as well as Raleigh's own Nicole White Kennedy and Dan Nelson. Her major influences are Joaquin Sorolla, Richard Schmid and Charles Movalli.

Renee’s portrait, “Burnished,” was accepted into the National Oil and Acrylic Painters 2016 Online Exhibition and is featured as a finalist in Southwest Art Magazine. Her work most recently has been accepted into Raleigh’s Fine Arts Exhibition as well as Cary’s Fine Arts League Exhibition, in which she won accolades in both shows.

Renee is a juried member of Oil Painters of America and Women Painters of the Southeast, as well as a member of the American Impressionists Society, the Portrait Society of America and Raleigh's Visual Art Exchange. She is an Artist in Residence at Nicole's Studio and Art Gallery in Raleigh.